


Featherwind

by ideallyqualia



Series: Birds and Wingfics [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Birds, Canon Universe, Comfort, Fluff, Haikyuu!! AU Week, M/M, Magical Realism, Pre-Relationship, Shapeshifting, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-12
Updated: 2015-04-12
Packaged: 2018-03-22 12:34:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3729124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ideallyqualia/pseuds/ideallyqualia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Suga likes helping people, but he prefers doing it when he's disguised in bird form.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Featherwind

**Author's Note:**

> For hq au week day 7: free prompt (shapeshifter AU except this is also still canonverse).
> 
> Inspired by [this](https://twitter.com/simaenaga_bot) twitter account's bird species. that's what Suga is supposed to look like in this fic.
> 
> Spoilers for the anime/manga, up to the end of inter high.

Following people around wasn't what Suga would call it. He sometimes just sat in a tree and watched people pass by, especially when there was a nice breeze blowing. He tightened his feet around the branch to keep himself rooted if the wind was too strong, but otherwise it didn't bother him. It felt nice to have his feathers ruffle up without any effort.

Sometimes his teammates passed by. Suga didn't know if he should do anything at first, but Hinata seemed happy with him hopping closer on the branches, picking his way to the lowest one to get a better look at Hinata. If Hinata was particularly cheerful, he'd tear off bits of food and stretch out his hand, and Suga took that as a cue to step onto his hand and eat. Hinata didn't make any sudden movements, although Suga wasn't afraid anyway. Hinata would turn slowly if Kageyama was next to him, turning to inch his hand up in the air and show to Kageyama. Hinata tried to whisper, and his voice almost always ended up rising to that awed pitch he had with anything he liked.  

Kageyama didn't notice Suga was the same bird that Hinata enjoyed feeding. Or he didn't say anything. Suga didn't think he should creep that close to Kageyama, at least with knowing and visible intention, but Kageyama had a pained frown when Suga scooted away. Suga noticed that happen when dogs and cats ran from him, and while he didn't understand why other animals did it, he hated seeing it. He stepped closer when he saw Kageyama pause near whatever tree he was perched on, and he came as far as he dared until he decided to chirp to get Kageyama's attention.

Kageyama squinted and wrinkled his nose the first time Suga did it. Suga didn't step off the branch if Kageyama was alone, but he stepped side to side to let Kageyama know that he was there. The branch swayed with movement each time, and if the branch was light and thin enough, it bent down, closer to Kageyama's head than usual. Suga knew when to trust that the branch wouldn't snap, since his avian body was much smaller and lighter than his human one, so he was comfortable with whatever distance from Kageyama the branches gave him. He chirped at Kageyama until he left, or flitted between branches to follow him a couple steps. Kageyama was confused the first few times, and he constantly turned his head when he saw a small bird trailing him. Eventually he just ducked his head and pressed his lips together in response, quiet, almost out of embarrassment, the corners of his mouth twitching up.

Suga usually found Yamaguchi and Tsukishima together. Tsukishima tended to ignore birds, but Yamaguchi made him turn if he saw Suga in a tree. They only gave him food once, a couple strips of bread from a sandwich Tsukishima ate the rest of, but Suga still appreciated it. Yamaguchi was the one to hold it in his hand, standing under the tree for a minute until Suga realized that there weren't any other birds around for Yamaguchi to give food. Otherwise Suga just watched them walk around on the street. Yamaguchi was chattier than Tsukishima, and he still called him by his nickname when they were alone, tugging on his arm to catch his attention or point. They didn't seem to notice when Suga flitted between branches above them, so he followed them more than his other friends.

Once, when Tsukishima was alone, Suga saw him spill money from his pocket. Tsukishima kept walking, so he didn't notice, but Suga didn't feel comfortable knowing that he saw it happen and wasn't doing anything. After a minute he decided to swoop down and collect the bill in his beak. It kept unfolding before he could completely clamp his beak around it, and by the time he managed it he couldn't see Tsukishima in his immediate vision. Flying was thrown off balance by the lopsided weight, since he didn't think about biting it in the middle, but he managed to circle around a few nearby streets until he found Tsukishima. Suga chose a low tree to perch on, and with the money still in his mouth, he kept jumping from branch to branch until Tsukishima noticed him purposefully sticking by him.

Tsukishima frowned. Ordinary birds didn't go to these lengths, especially birds that weren't ravens or crows, but Suga was sure Tsukishima knew what he was trying to do. He tilted his head, trying to wave the money in the air. It moved slowly, slower than his tail feathers swaying with his body movement, and Tsukishima still wasn't opening his hand for it. Suga made a strangled, annoyed peep and flitted to Tsukishima's shoulder, bending his head to stuff the money under Tsukishima's shirt collar. He shot his hand to his shirt on instinct, and by then Suga had already returned to the air. 

Suga took his place on the tree again and hunkered down on the tree branch. Tsukishima eyed him in confusion when he pulled out the bill to see what it was, but Suga just stared quietly. 

There wasn't complete innocence in Suga's intent to spy on Daichi. He had to admit that he actively sought out Daichi sometimes when he turned into a bird, but only when he was already out on the street. Suga didn't like going near anyone's houses when he was alone as a bird, and he was always alone when he was like this. He didn't know anyone else who could shapeshift, and the public didn't know that it was possible.

Suga didn't know if it was a good idea to approach Daichi, especially so closely, but he did it anyway. He hopped around on the floor if Daichi was sitting on a bench, making little jumps around to make Daichi look. Daichi scooted away at first, his confusion masked even worse than Tsukishima's, but Suga really wanted to be close to Daichi as a bird, too. He kept coming back, keeping his distance in the beginning but shortening it with each visit. None of them had been afraid of birds, including Daichi, but Suga still didn't want to startle them. He made small chirps at Daichi's feet, pecking the ground and fluttering his wings to make himself as birdlike as possible. Usually he didn't care, he just lounged around in the trees, but that wouldn't catch Daichi's eye so easily.

Daichi eventually realized that Suga was the same bird visiting and following him. Suga popped in on him when Daichi was out eating, landing on the table or floor near him to ask for scraps. He felt embarrassed hopping close and chirping for his attention since he didn't need the food, but he felt warm at the thought of Daichi being the one who fed him the most out of the other humans he trailed.

Most of the time Daichi gave him bread or pasta, intentionally dropping some with a flick of his chopstick or a loose grip on food in his hands. Suga appreciated hot food, but when Daichi crouched down once at the park with seeds in his hand, Suga went quiet in surprise for a moment. This meant Daichi brought food just for him, even though he had no idea when Suga was going to come by. 

Suga took too long thinking, so Daichi ended up placing the seeds on the floor, turning his hand to let them fall.

"I'll just leave this here," Daichi said, his voice raised in pitch as if he was questioning himself. It was the first time Daichi spoke to him directly, which made Suga go completely still. He didn't expect Daichi to tell him anything.

Suga ate the seeds happily, bouncing around to get to every seed. He didn't like hopping around _that_ much, but he felt too light and buoyant to stop himself. When he finished, he turned his head up to see Daichi still standing there, a small smile on his face.

"Do you want more?" he asked.

Suga nodded, his whole body following his head. He was excited to give Daichi a clue that he understood human speech, and from Daichi's suddenly slack mouth, he knew that Daichi wasn't anticipating a real response.

"You know what I'm saying?" 

Suga nodded again, and he made an affirmative string of peeps, his notes rising and falling. Daichi frowned from the information, his head tilting, and Suga mirrored him, cocking his head at a sharper angle.

"Well..." Daichi rubbed the side of his neck. "I should really give you some food, then, little guy. Wouldn't want to let a friend starve."

Suga brightened at that. He nibbled on seeds for a few more minutes with Daichi watching. There wasn't any way for Suga to thank him or really communicate anything other than a yes or no, so he stuck around afterward. He circled Daichi at a slow pace, his wings tucked close but still twitching from the prospect of Daichi finally understanding something, even if it was a little piece of info.

"Are you the same bird that's been following me?" Daichi asked.

Suga repeated his string of cheeps. It didn't sound like real words, but the inflection still came across.

"Oh..."

Suga alternated his steps then, taking larger steps as if he was stomping. He wasn't angry, though, just trying to make odd movements to entertain Daichi.

"Well, I have to go, but I hope I see you again."

Daichi rearranged his jacket by the collar. He hesitated to do anything with his hands, so Suga raised a wing to wave, glad to demonstrate his intelligence. 

A cough came from Daichi. "Right. Well, bye, little guy." 

Suga flapped his wings and took off, returning to the sky to fly around a couple more minutes until he decided to go home. He saw Daichi leave, turning on his street to head home. After Daichi stepped inside, Suga landed in his own backyard to change back.

 

* * *

 

The next time Suga saw Daichi in his bird form, he was absentmindedly pecking at a tree. There was no point in looking for food, but it was somehow fulfilling to be doing it. Pulling at bugs and tugging on leaves was fun in its own destructive way.

Daichi couldn't recognize him, so Suga had to be the one to initiate contact. When he saw Daichi walking below, he swooped down and glided near his arms. Daichi was startled by the sudden flurry of movement, but he stopped and collected himself with realization flashing in his eyes.

"You're that bird from before," Daichi said. He still sounded reluctant to talk outloud, especially with so many people around right now.

Suga flew back up to the trees, picking a nearby branch to eye Daichi from. He hunched in on himself to look Daichi over.

Daichi continued walking, his head turned to linger his gaze for a few steps. Suga unfurled his wings to follow once he felt like moving, and he caught up with Daichi sitting on a low brick wall. He alighted on the stone next to Daichi, and he leaned his head forward to declare his purpose before stepping closer.

Daichi's eyes followed his approach. He didn't do or say anything when Suga came close, really close to his leg, so Suga felt comfortable with climbing onto it.

Daichi hovered his hand in the air above his head. "Can I touch...?" he asked in a whisper.

Suga chirped and shuffled closer. He knew how parrots loved to be petted, so he imitated their example from the time he saw someone pet a bird on their wrist. Suga stretched his head to bare his neck, and he felt a couple fingers rest there. He flinched in surprise, completely forgetting for a second just how large a hand was, but he relaxed from feeling Daichi rub his neck.

Suga twisted his head to place Daichi's fingers at different angles. Daichi used small motions, which Suga was thankful for in the moment. No one had ever petted him before, so he gave a warbled coo to signal gratitude. He made louder chirps when Daichi scratched, since it mussed his feathers in the same pleasant way it felt to comb his fingers through his hair. 

Suga shook his head to puff up his feathers. He gathered his wings to his body, tensing from being happy. Daichi was warm, which made him sleepy enough to rock with the hand, stretching his beak to yawn. 

"You're pretty cute," Daichi said softly.

Suga's eyes snapped open. His little heart pounded in his chest, slamming awareness through his body, and he felt his neck burn.

"I don't have any pets, but I think I'm glad I just have you." Daichi curled his fingers to scratch more, still gentle.

Suga made more pleased cheeps. Daichi couldn't gauge any emotion from them, but Suga was embarrassed, too, tittering to himself from reading too much into Daichi's words. He debated telling Daichi that he was the bird Daichi knew, but now he didn't think he could do it. Daichi would stop telling him these kinds of things, and Suga wanted to hear them.

He grinded his beak in thought. Daichi calling him cute was a high compliment, and even if he knew he shouldn't care about how humans saw his bird body, he liked hearing it. It made his chest swell, but it also made his wings tighten.

After Daichi gave him neck scratches for a while, his hand retreated. Suga fluffed his wings and stood up, turning his head to prompt Daichi to speak. 

"I should probably go now," Daichi said. "I have homework to do."

Suga leapt off him, his feet spreading to land on the ground. He spun around to return eye contact again, lifting his wing to wave. 

"See you, too," Daichi said, his mouth quirking up.

With that, Suga knew it was time to leave. He didn't want to, but Daichi had a point about homework. Suga was in an amazingly great mood now, at least, so he didn't mind leaving.

 

* * *

 

Suga trusted Daichi enough to let him handle Suga with his whole hand. Daichi was definitely gentle, and now Suga knew he was that way with animals, too. 

Suga hopped onto his outstretched hand with very little hesitation. He still had some, since Daichi was gigantic to him right now, but he thought it was a tradeoff he was willing to make.

Daichi cupped his other hand over Suga's body, lowering it until it pressed on his back with light pressure. Suga reminded himself to breathe to keep himself relaxed, and he ended up huffing when he made too large an exhale.

Daichi laughed quietly. "Is something wrong?"

Suga was motionless for a second, but he shook his head after some thought. If he said no, then Daichi would let go, and he still wanted to be held. There was just no way to convey what he actually felt.

Daichi lowered his hand more, his thumb running over his wing at his side. His wing jerked in response.

"Sorry," Daichi said with a grimace.

Suga didn't want him to feel guilty, so he unfolded his wing for Daichi to examine. Suga turned his head to look, too, conscious of the way a few feathers stuck out. He didn't preen those back into place, and he was aware now that he should have.

Daichi didn't seem to understand that Suga felt messy, though. He moved his hand to swipe his thumb over the wayward feathers, twisting them pleasantly enough for Suga to warble in contentment.

"I brought you some seeds again," Daichi said. He removed his hand to dig in his pocket, and when the hand reappeared, Suga craned his head to acknowledge the food.

He jumped on the other hand to munch. His beak cracked open shells, busy with working around the tougher ones. Daichi spectated with a light smile, and it tugged at Suga enough to make him pause to look. 

Daichi seemed almost always happy to see him as a bird. It was different from being viewed as a human being, since Daichi flashed him larger grins from victorious game-plays, but he voiced his disappointment and grimaced when he wasn't feeling well. Daichi treated him with softer care and smiles when he was a bird.

"Did you used to be someone's pet bird?" Daichi asked.

Suga shook his head. It was a reasonable question, anyway. Daichi was probably never going to guess the real reason for Suga's familiarity and trust in him 

The way Daichi kept talking to him, though, made him think that even if he was a stranger, he would've felt comfortable with Daichi. Some of his words were a repeat of what he already told Suga earlier as a human, but some details were smaller things that Suga guessed Daichi didn't want to trouble his human self with. A terrible test score, Hinata and Kageyama's squabbles, burnt food, a lost favorite pencil--Suga kept it in mind. Daichi told his bird form about a small injury, too, a squashed finger from a door jam, and Suga tapped his beak on Daichi's hand to ask which finger it was. 

He didn't think Daichi was actually replying to his unvoiced question, but Daichi pointed it out in the next few minutes, once he finished eating. Suga compressed into a ball to nuzzle his finger, giving a sad slow chirp to show he knew it hurt. 

Daichi's mouth lifted in the corners. "Thank you," he said. "It doesn't hurt anymore though." 

Suga didn't think that mattered. He liked the excuse. Now, he was walking around on Daichi's hand, stopping to draw his foot on his skin.

"Do you think you can show me your nest?" Daichi asked hopefully.

Suga would've loved to if he had one. He slept in a house with his family, though, so he shook his head.

"Oh."

Suga heard the falling note in his voice, so he decided to climb Daichi's arm. He didn't go past Daichi's elbow, and he went back and forth on the arm, in the same way he used to on tree branches when he was originally vying for his attention. 

Daichi moved his hand to rub Suga's stomach. It made Suga halt in his pacing. He preferred being petted on his back, but the warm sensitivity on his stomach felt nice too.

"Well, it doesn't matter if you show it to me or not. If it was high up, then I wouldn't be able to see it anyway."

Suga nodded. That was a valid point.

"I have to go now, but it was fun seeing you again today. See you tomorrow?"

Suga made a series of cheeps to reply.

Daichi stroked a finger over Suga's head. "See you, then."

 

* * *

 

"Suga, what do you know about birds?" 

Suga nearly choked on his drink. He managed to swallow and calmly lower it to his desk. "Birds? Why?"

Daichi was slouching in his seat. It was lunchtime, and they were indoors at school, so Suga couldn't visit as a bird. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Suga echoed. "Something looks like it's bothering you."

Truthfully, he was nervous just talking about it. He was a terrible liar, and he became more flustered now that he knew two different sides of Daichi. And those two sides couldn't come together, as much as Suga wished they could. He started looking forward to hearing Daichi speak softly, sitting in his hand in a fluffy ball and letting himself make whatever dumb bird noises came out. 

Daichi crossed his arms. His foot was tapping against one of the legs of his desk, and his frown deepened. "You'd never believe me if I said it."

Suga shifted closer to hear. "What is it?" 

"I think... I think I have a wild bird following me around, and I don't know why."

Suga snorted. He didn't know how Daichi was going to word it, but that was putting it mildly. "A little bird?" 

Daichi tightened his arms defensively. "I can just stop talking." 

"No no no, let me hear about it," Suga added quickly. "Sorry, but it just sounds weird. How long has he been following you?"

Daichi shrugged. "A long time now. I didn't even feed him, he just started going where I went until he asked for food once, and now he won't go away." 

"Well, do you want the bird to leave?" Suga tilted his head. 

"No." Daichi's eyebrows furrowed, and Suga realized it was directed at him. 

The bird liked to tilt his head too, and Suga realized he had to keep his bird habits a secret. He didn't hang around the others enough for that to be a problem, but Daichi might notice something familiar if he didn't stop.

Suga cleared his throat and lowered his chin to his palm. "So, what do you think of this bird?"

Daichi arranged his fingers to display an estimated size. "It's a pretty small bird. Really cute, though. I can see why people love birds."

Suga's elbow slipped on his desk. He tried to slide down and play it off as an intentional movement, but Daichi's raised eyebrow told him that Daichi suspected it wasn't on purpose.

 

* * *

 

"I told one of my friends about you today," Daichi said the next time they met when he was a bird. 

Suga made a questioning cheep.

"His name's Suga. I don't know if he really believed me, though."

That may have been for the best. Skepticism wouldn't bring questions from Daichi, ready acceptance would.

"I don't think it matters, anyway."

Daichi's hand stopped moving, and Suga whirred in a few chirps to demand more scratches. When Daichi still didn't, Suga tugged on his hand lightly to make the movement draw his focus back.

"Oh. Sorry. This is your favorite part." Daichi smiled apologetically and resumed petting him. Suga stared at him until the rubbing soothed him into forgetting that the lapse happened.

"I wish Suga knew. Well, if he had to know something, I wish he knew the other thing, but that'll never happen."

That made Suga blink. He stiffened and sat up.

"I have another volleyball practice this weekend. If--"

Suga chirruped and whirred, loudly enough for Daichi to stop talking.

"What is it?"

Suga had no way to ask for him to elaborate on what he meant, but he still made more questioning peeps and whirring sounds.

Daichi stared at him blankly. "Up to now, you haven't really tried to ask me for anything."

Suga felt frustrated. He could just write in the dirt with his foot, but that went beyond the limits of avian intelligence. The smartest bird in the world wouldn't be able to communicate to that extent, and if he slipped up and wrote Daichi's name, then Daichi would be incredibly suspicious.

He sat back down and grumbled to himself wordlessly. He had no way to really speak with Daichi like this.

 

* * *

 

Daichi was in a terrible mood, Suga knew, but Daichi didn't talk to human Suga about it right away. Suga suspected that it was probably from their recent loss against Seijou. It happened a couple days ago, but it was still fresh on everyone's minds, so Suga didn't think it could be from anything else. 

Bird-Suga hopped around Daichi's feet. He attempted bright chirping to cheer Daichi up, but that wasn't cutting it today. Daichi sat on the bench with his face stuck in a frown, arms crossed and body slumped into the back of the seat.

Suga fluttered up to the bench. He cocked his head and chirped again, and while that drew Daichi's hand to him, it didn't make Daichi look. He just sighed and stroked Suga's back, with less precision than he normally had. Suga's chirps were tinged with sad low tones as Daichi kept it up, his noises trailing off into lower pitches.

After a few minutes, Suga crawled out from Daichi's hand. That got his attention--Suga rarely ever left his petting unless Daichi warned him he was going to stop anyway. 

Suga clambered up his sleeve, his beak and feet alternating to make the climb. He could've just flown up, but he knew by now that Daichi liked seeing him try to do these kinds of things without flying. His body had to curl and stretch to reach up and up, and Daichi sometimes laughed at the struggle.

Suga kept climbing past where he always stopped. He continued until he was on Daichi's shoulder, and he sidestepped until he was next to Daichi's cheek. Then he plopped down. He shifted side to side to get comfortable, his feathers ruffling and puffing. He clacked his beak for the sake of making mindless noise.

Daichi was awfully quiet. Suga chirruped to make him talk.

"Hm? Oh. I didn't expect you to...do anything. Sorry, I've just had a terrible week."

Daichi slid his hand up to rub Suga's head. He was rewarded with a tweet, and Suga scooched closer to Daichi's neck to nestle against his warm skin. Suga saw the side of Daichi's mouth lift, and he felt it echo in the twist of his beak in the air.

Suga stood up to readjust his feet. He angled his head to stare at them, trying to use them to arrange the fabric under himself into comfortable folds. Suga never made a nest before, but he felt a similar sense of instinct guiding his foot as it bunched the clothing. Once he hollowed out a small space, Suga set himself down in it, the fabric folds framing his body. 

This was supposed to tell Daichi that Suga was staying longer today, but Daichi didn't get the message right away. He idly scratched Suga's head, ruffling a couple feathers to Suga's delighted warbles. Suga didn't have a way to verbally make him feel better, but from past experience, he knew how to make Daichi smile. Or he could extrapolate anyway, huddling to Daichi's face and hoping that it would bring the same reaction as Suga pressing between his hands. Suga made lower cheeps, helpfully, at what he hoped was a soothing pitch. 

Daichi still had a dulled frown, though. It flickered in response to Suga's movements and noises, especially when Suga shook to fluff himself up. Suga did that multiple times in a row until Daichi's hand became committed to petting, and Suga leaned to nuzzle with the side of his head against Daichi's palm. Daichi's fingers curled around him gently, and his shoulders rose and fell with a sigh. Suga's whole body felt the sigh, but it was slow enough for him to enjoy the motion.

When Daichi pulled his hand away, Suga tried to follow with his head. He made annoyed bubbles of chirps, and it made Daichi laugh a little.

"Alright, I got the hint."

Daichi slid his hand to rub his thumb under Suga's beak, on the bottom of his neck. Suga hunched down with his eyes set on Daichi, fixing him with a judgmental stare that didn't last. The rhythm of his petting was distracting, forceful enough to move his body back and forth but still careful. His eyes ended up drifting closed, and he wasn't aware of the loss of consciousness until he was startled awake by Daichi standing up.

"I think I've had enough sitting around for one day," he said. Daichi's hand was still on Suga, lightly scratching a receptive spot on the back of his neck that Daichi figured out was his favorite spot. Suga couldn't resist warbling sleepily from it.

"Aren't you going to go home now?" Daichi asked.

Suga moved his feet, but instead of getting up to fly away, he buried them deeper into Daichi's clothes. He shook his head.

Daichi's forehead wrinkled. "You're going to stay with me?" 

Suga still didn't move. He wasn't feeling too great about losing to Seijou either, but they both seemed better when they were together like this, so he decided to stick with Daichi. 

Daichi walked slowly at first, which wasn't very exciting but Suga still liked watching everything move by from a high place while he did nothing. He was small and partially covered by Daichi's crumpled jacket, so no one really noticed him sitting on Daichi's shoulder. Daichi kept his hands in his pockets instead of scratching Suga's head, although Suga didn't mind, he just burrowed into Daichi's neck and rubbed his head feathers to make up for it. Daichi's mouth twitched, and that led Suga to do it more, happily pressing his cheek against Daichi's skin.

They didn't expect to bump into anyone they knew, but in the middle of walking, Asahi spotted Daichi and approached him. Asahi didn't see Suga at first, he was too busy talking to notice. Suga wondered if Daichi was self-conscious about it, having a small bird sitting on his shoulder for no reason. He kept still in case that was true, but after a couple minutes he noticed Asahi's shoelaces were untied, and he bristled in annoyance. Asahi might've gone a while without realizing it.

Suga couldn't stand it. He sat up and jumped off of Daichi, diving for Asahi's feet with spread wings. Daichi was more surprised from Suga revealing himself than from the actual movement, but Asahi flinched back a step.

"Where did the bird come from?"

Suga froze on the floor for a second, but he still bent his head with cautious increments, his beak latching onto his shoelace. When neither of them moved or said anything, Suga continued on with a normal speed, tugging to untie them fully and then struggling to do the knot. He beat his wings angrily when he realized he couldn't actually do it.

"I think it's trying to tie your shoes…" Daichi said.

"…"

Suga glanced up. Daichi's mouth was hidden under his hand, but he was shaking as if he wanted to laugh. Asahi was frowning. 

When Asahi crouched to reach for his shoes, though, Suga hopped away. He came to Daichi's feet and flapped, shooting back up to Daichi's arm to crawl the rest of the way back to Daichi's shoulder. After Asahi tied his shoes, he stood back up with his mouth still in a confused frown.

"Is that your bird?"

Daichi shifted on his feet. "Well…"

Suga made an emphatic nod, chirping with the same affirmative pitches he used when he tried to tell Daichi  _yes._  

Daichi rested his hand over Suga to shush him. "He's just a wild bird, really. He keeps following me."

"…Why?"

"I fed him once. I think that's why."

Suga tried to push his hand away at first, but he gave up to nudge his head against it with resigned pressure. 

Asahi scratched his head. "Oh."

Suga saw the uneasy smile on Daichi, but Suga was still content with Asahi now knowing Daichi had a bird friend. Suga poked his head out from under the hand to chirp at Asahi.

"Anyway, I'm heading home now," Daichi said. "See you tomorrow, Asahi."

"Bye Daichi." His eyes flitted to Suga before he walked away.

Daichi turned his head when Asahi was gone. "Don't do that," he said. It was probably intended to sound firm, but Suga didn't hear any irritation in his voice.

Suga babbled a few peeps in response.

 

* * *

 

Suga never went inside Daichi's house, and he never tried to hide himself from Daichi's sight if he stuck by. He made himself known so that it couldn't really be called  _spying._ Suga woke up really early sometimes, and that left him enough time to fly to Daichi's window and tap on the glass to wake him up.  

Daichi scolded him each time when he opened the window, but it was half-hearted and full of sleepy mumbles. Suga took the time to notice Daichi's barely-awake state; wrinkled pajamas that sometimes slipped a bit on his shoulders and waist from tossing in his sleep, hair sticking out at different angles, tired head scratches, and yawns that made Suga open his beak and peep to imitate him.

Suga flitted by the window until he saw Daichi actually start getting ready for school. Daichi asked him to sing before, but Suga decided to only sing and warble the way Daichi liked when he was trying to make Daichi wake up. When Daichi reached for clothes, Suga left to prepare for school himself. He didn't think he should see Daichi undress.

When Daichi slid into the chair next to him at school in the morning, Suga turned with a too-smug smile. He was pleased with being the first one Daichi saw in the day, even if Daichi didn't know it. 

Suga picked up his pencil and pressed it on his paper to write, whistling a little since class wasn't going to start for another ten minutes.

"You sound happy today," Daichi muttered.

"I am."

Suga kept whistling for a few minutes. He heard Daichi cough--no,  _choke--_ and when he turned back to Daichi, he saw him gape at Suga.

"What are you whistling?" Daichi asked quietly.

"I'm not really whistling a song, it's..." Suga trailed off, and his lips pressed together with growing dread. It was the same song he sang a few hours ago as a bird, when he woke Daichi up.

 Daichi closed his mouth but he kept staring.

"I heard a bird sing it…?" Suga said hesitantly. 

"What kind of bird…?"

"Small and. I don't remember." Suga jerked away to face forward, his pencil returning to the paper to scribble aimlessly.

He didn't think Daichi suddenly put the pieces together, but that was an awfully suspicious slip. He stopped whistling completely, and they sat in silence until the bell rang.

 

* * *

 

Daichi was a bit wary of Suga when he landed on Daichi's leg. Daichi was at the park again, since it wouldn't look out of place to be feeding birds and talking to them with so many other birds around. 

Suga poked his beak at the container in his hands.

Daichi pulled his hands away. "Can you talk?" he asked.

Suga tilted his head, and then shook it. He really couldn't speak like this, he could only make bird noises, but the recent blunder left Daichi eyeing him and asking him more questions.

Daichi opened his package of food slowly. Suga stepped closer, and Daichi moved it further away.

"Do you visit Suga?" Daichi asked. 

Suga dipped his head down to bite at the plastic container. He could see a muffin inside, and Daichi  _knew_ that that was one of Suga's favorites--as a bird, anyway.

"Do you?" he repeated. Suga shook his head.

Daichi sighed and opened it fully. Before Daichi could pick it up, Suga hopped over and sat on the muffin. He was probably going to get crumbs on his feathers, and his feet felt funny from sinking into the soft bread, but the frown on Daichi's face was worth it.

"I was going to give you a piece, you know."

Suga craned his beak to nibble at it, showing that he was still going to eat it. It was a good flavor, too, pumpkin muffin from a café he saw Daichi buy from sometimes. Daichi saw him fly by the window expectantly if they visited together. Suga landed on a table and pecked around as if he was checking for crumbs, when he was really just waiting for Daichi to step back out.

Daichi gave him a disapproving look, but he didn't scold him for taking over it. Instead he just sighed again and scratched Suga's head.

"Then why did Suga do that earlier…"

Suga hitched his wings up in a shrug. He was a pretty good liar when his face was like this, only feathers and fluff on his body and face. The most he could manage were gestures that involved his whole body, pointed stares, and chirps and tweets with varied pitches. It was easy to get away with things like taking his food, too, and Suga liked to believe that it was because Daichi still thought he was a cute little bird.

"You kind of look like him."

Suga stiffened with a confused cheep. 

"Your feathers look like his hair," Daichi said. His fingers twirled around a couple feathers.

Well, that didn't mean much. A lot of birds have grey feathers. Suga wasn't concerned about that.

 

* * *

 

What he should have been concerned with was Daichi in general. Daichi brought more of his favorite food over the next few visits, but Suga didn't realize that some of it was his favorite food--as a human. 

After Suga ate a bit of Daichi's food, he glanced up and saw Daichi fixing him with an unreadable expression. 

"I didn't know you liked spicy food," Daichi said.

Suga kept eating for a minute, too happy with his meal to care, but after he took a step back with a full stomach, he realized that that was another huge mistake. Human-Suga loved spicy food, and birds didn't, really.

Suga sat down with an heavy pit in his stomach, cooing softly and pitifully. Daichi heard the note of embarrassment in it, and he didn't seem to understand why, but he still laughed.

"Suga likes spicy food too," he said with a smile. "Are you sure you don't visit Suga?"

He didn't respond to that. He moved on to pushing at Daichi's hand now that they both ate their food, nudging it until Daichi raised his hand enough for Suga to scoot underneath. Suga still made annoyed chirps from thinking about accidentally eating spicy food, and he kept doing it as he buried his head in Daichi's hand.

Daichi peered under to smile at him. "Is something wrong?"

Suga shook his head and chirped again. There wasn't anything wrong, really. Except that Daichi was starting to find more suspicious facts about his bird friend, and Suga was terrible at keeping himself from spilling info. If Suga did anything else, then he didn't know what Daichi would think.

 

* * *

 

It would've been much simpler if it was a one way street--with bird-Suga acting like a human, and not the other way around--but it stopped being simple when Daichi caught him in class. Eating one of bird-Suga's favorite types of bread.

Suga didn't notice that he was doing it until Daichi leaned over with a confused frown. "What kind of muffin are you eating?"

"It's a pumpkin muffin," Suga said after he chewed and swallowed from a bite. "Want a piece?"

Daichi eyed the food. "That looks like it's from…"

Suga raised an eyebrow. "From…?"

Daichi narrowed his eyes. "Where did you hear about that café?"

Suga bit off another piece as he thought. He was about to say where, but then he realized that Daichi was the one who showed him. He followed Daichi and hovered outside the window as a bird.

Suga swallowed slowly. "I don't remember."

Daichi's mouth set in a sharp, knowing line. "Really?"

As a human, he finished off food pretty quickly, so the muffin was almost gone by now. He chewed as thoroughly as he could to delay his next words, but he had no idea what he was going to say.

When he finally finished, he leaned back and whispered, "We're in the middle of class, Daichi, now's not the time for talking."

He shifted back in his seat to pretend to write, and he could see Daichi's disappointment from the corner of his eyes.

 

* * *

 

After school, Daichi stuck by the door until Suga walked out. Suga tried to step around him, but Daichi mimicked him to block his path. 

"So. Do you have anything to say, Suga?" he asked, his arms crossed with a firm stance.

"No?"

Daichi's head fell to the side a little. "Oh? Then you wouldn't want--" He turned his backpack around to dig through it, and after a few moments, he pulled out a packet of seeds. "To eat this?"

"Daichi. Why do you have bird food in your backpack?"

Daichi shook the seeds to emphasize his point. "That's not what we're questioning here."

"I'm not going to eat bird food, Daichi."

Daichi shrugged. "Alright. You don't have to. I'll just leave this in the locker room, then, and it should be there when we get back from practice."

Suga laughed under his hand, but it was a nervous laugh that made Daichi eye him more. 

Bird seed shouldn't be that tempting. Suga never tried it as a human, he just accepted seeds when he was his bird self, but now he was curious. Not curious enough to take it, though. He wasn't that hungry.

Once practice ended, Suga watched Daichi pick up the packet of seeds and look it over.

"You didn't open it." Daichi rubbed the back of his neck, his mouth quirking in an uneasy smile. "Maybe I was wrong?"

"Wrong about what? I still don't know what you're talking about," Suga said. He was very glad that his voice didn't waver.

Now Daichi was the embarrassed one. Suga felt guilty about it, but he didn't think he could be calm if Daichi found out, right here and now, that he was the little bird Daichi liked to pet and feed. Daichi apologized for accusing Suga of something he didn't really explain, and Suga laughed again, telling him that he didn't understand it anyway.

 

* * *

 

Suga felt shy about visiting Daichi the next morning, so he didn't sing his usual morning songs. He tapped on the window and then sat back quietly, waiting for Daichi to stir enough to stand out of bed. 

Daichi grumbled to himself and opened the window. "You're never late, are you?" he asked in a mumble. He rubbed his hand into his eyes and yawned.

Suga tucked his beak down to settle for a few minutes. Daichi wasn't going to get dressed right away, he knew.

"Hey, are you hungry?" Daichi asked.

Suga remained where he was. He gave a low cheep to tell Daichi he wasn't interested.

"You sure, Suga?"

The mention of his name made his head shoot up and eyes widen. He chirped in confusion.

Daichi's sleepy blankness sharpened. "Did you just react to the name 'Suga'?"

Suga's beak opened. He didn't make any noises, though, still confused on what to do even as a bird.

Daichi leaned onto his desk to rest an arm over his head. "It really is you, isn't it? Suga?"

All the feathers on his body bristled. He hissed and puffed up, but the defensive gesture only made him look more suspicious.

Daichi raised his head. "Suga, I thought it was you. Only recently, but…"

Daichi's shoulders rose stiffly, and he brushed his hand through his messy hair. 

Suga cheeped, still trying to keep his beak to his neck to hide. 

"You're a terrible liar," Daichi said with a sigh. "You probably didn't think I could ever find out, huh?"

Suga shifted his feet from the window sill. Daichi's eyes were intently watching him now, with his wing fidgets and feather puffs in plain knowing view. Daichi knew now, and Suga felt every movement burn clumsily in his mind.

Daichi extended his hand and opened the window completely. "Want to come in?"

Suga twisted his head to peer around the window. Daichi was still in his pajamas, still sleepy and bleary-eyed, but now he had a contented smile twitching in his mouth. It made Suga relax his feathers, and he leaned forward a bit, his foot stretching out as he tilted his head questioningly.

Daichi pressed his hand against Suga's foot. "Just come in," he said. "Even if you fly away, I'm going to see you at school, still."

He had a point. Suga edged onto his hand and wrapped his feet around his fingers, glancing down to make sure he didn't accidentally cut Daichi with his nails. When he looked up, he found Daichi smiling fully, warmly.

Suga turned his head to avoid Daichi's gaze. He definitely felt mortified now, but he still couldn't help chirping and warbling when Daichi scratched his head as they moved to the kitchen for breakfast.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm too tired to do the whole confession thing between them.
> 
> (General A/N that exists at the end of all my fics): I find unsolicited concrit really rude, I'm not looking for any. Please don't tell me someone was OOC/something happened you didn't like/it's too short/etc. in any bookmarks or comments.


End file.
